can} s :m of all trades.
Myfsir to her to so
beings Jill of all trades
.1. .~_- , moron. while Miss
“will well. Because
mum versatility her
.' Nevertheless. she
on road of effort for thirty
" before ‘she reached the goal
.. .gnsturo had set for her. Na.-
L'not'herself.
. . flip story Lam about to tell
“als‘not one of a woman who
decades ago knew what she
tbd and pursued her object for
00 "ten year's. It is the outline of
at. of one who took one step at
flatmflrmly. and followed an ever
ning road to the Thing She
id“ Do Best.
Iain season Broadway rubbed the
fl hour sleep from its eyes at the
onncement that Zelda. Sears had
[plays on Amusement Highway.
rubbed them the harder when one
the plays, for which Miss Sears
mm the book and lyrics, proved the
-. 5‘50,“ vehicle Mitzi had ever had and
'1 nveyed her for a longer run in
”New York than she had ever en-
Wed. For twenty-three weeks
”Tidy Billy," an original musical
flay by Miss Sears, ran at the Lib-
_erty Theater and might have con-
w'k "lied through the summer had not
Q: star wearicd of eight perform-
slices 9. week and booked a sailing
for'~Europe. At the same time that
the quaint charm of “Lady Billy"
oi. delighting audiences at the Lib-
erty. “Cornered,“ a play of which
to: Sears was co-nuthor. was pur-
Klfi’ulng its successful melodramatic
way at the Astor Theater. Miss
flours took rank as one of the best
Md women in the United States.
Tan 0' the Hill Farm at “'iiton, Con-
necticut. and an apartment house in
Chicago are the visible tokens of her
fichicvements.
f‘ gnetized by her success. new
ends gathered about her, and, re-
lumbering her long loyalty to their
bonds. old friends assembled to con-
gratulate .the handsome, white haired
‘ Woman with the youthful dark eyes
ind the olive skin of her remotely
ancestral Italy.
' “But remember that it took me
thirty years to arrive here," she said.
Miss Sears's statement was one of
‘ historical “5.3999(2'. E33-'3,‘_ght even
-~— I
' m.-.§.‘!.‘rla.1:9<zkvzo Jr... at
97 ', have extended the time somewhat l
“I llho “had chosen to go back to the
i i starting point of her useful netivh
. ties. She was "at the gnngilng age
‘ of 10." with short and not abundant
flat braids of black hair. when her
usefulness was made manifest. On
the farm where she was born, which
was twenty—four miles from a. rail-
way station. she milked eight cows
before breakfast by the light of a
lantern. That was Miss Sears‘s first
recollection of the pleasure of serv-
ice. The pleasure has been a con-
tinuous one.
Yearning for and needing some
compensation besides "That’s a good,
d" little girl, Zelda," from her parents,
3". she offered her services to a‘. rich
. and of Brockway, who kept a gen-
.-" or?“ store. .
The rich man peered through steel-
rlmmed glasses at the small appli-
-' cent.
"What can you do?" he asked.
"Anything." was the- reply pen.
traded with youthful confidence.
She We the cash girl at the
[metal-tore. Her lungs were so re-
liable that. customers called her “the
prime 'iionna." Unfortunately, or.
' - hly, there was more of power
melody in her tones In a.
e she was permitted to
' customers.
,
the proprietor.
missed his new selesgirl one day. He
fiend her crouched on a‘stool behind
:fll‘ counter. scribbling on a pad that
nested“ uncertainiy on " her sharp,
”unfit striped stockinsed knees.
j'fW‘bat are you doing there?" he
“Just practicing shorthand, writ-
”gumm- funnx I heard s. woman
hymn I was waiting on her." »
' .It happened that the rich man who
2 7 the store owned most of the
, including the local newspa-
. You..with. ya... shorthand.
‘ thing to know. You might
“gbh'tho funny things you
the paper,” he. said.
l’s eyes undears
“new? vigilance. L.
mammdsndamused ,_
....- - .x-,-... .
T‘rlJ, “TN? ' “
-need for ready money. that finally
that sd'vertiseumnt appeared C. R.‘
gnaw clothes and many comforts.
Growing pains again elected her.
"Port Huron is too small for me."
she said. and moved to Detroit.
To her amazement Michigan’s me-
tropolis showed no desire for the
illumination of her presence. “De-
troit's too small a. town for me, any-
way," she affirmed. "Im going to
Chicago."
She bought a scalper's ticket to
Chicago. The original purchaser was
described thereon as having a.
'beard.” But the preoccupied con—
ductor did not observe the incon—
gruity.
Her ambition when she "moved
upon” Chicago was $17 and deter-
mination. She called at the newspa-
per offices. W'onder, topping won-
tho unyielding quality of Detroit, and
realizing that the rewards of the
space writer are precarious, she, to
use her own phrase “becanw an ar-
dent student of help wanted litera-
ture." She boarded at the Young
'WVomen's Christian Association for
three and a. half dollars a week.
There she studied the "help wanted
literature." Her eyes fell hopefully
upon an advertisement for girls to
'mlik Vl'u‘ give 0
Adv n-hl'r ‘ "and
“int-In 03“"
. (w
Zelda Sears as she appeared in “The Show Shop."
derl , She was admitted to the man-
aging editor's office. She told him
she would like "to write pieces for
the paper." Affably he told her to
"go ahead.” Mindful. however. of
paint flowers on vases and boxes.
Now, Zelda Sears threw back. part
Cathedral. She could alwhys manipuv
Way, to her grandfather. ’Andrew
Paidi. Italian painter who did the
$375aYear
E31, STANLEY WALKER. months; artists in Italy and France
in nent artist would paint por— are unemployed and are being forced.
$1.: 23' end‘y for small cme{_N' 1. to turn to (Rher work; artists in Eng-
land are forgetting their pride long
enough to almost beg for work that
they may live. and even in New
York, where people boast that no-
body ever really starves to death. or-
tists are feeling the pinch more than
they ever have.
A Prize Winner Hero.
The other day when it was an-
nounced that Albert Floegel. hitherto
unknown. had been awarded the Fel-
lowshb in Punting that the Ameri-
can Academy in Rome gives every
year to a young American painter
mocgel himself was found living in
a little room in East Eighty-eighth
street. broke. hungry. in danger of
being evicted. and worn out from
the months of work and denial which
had enabled him to produce his point.
lug "Made" ‘Fiwsel will go to
Rome now toestudyrend for three
years he will receive [1.000 a year
_ and living omen-ei-
Ohfuch the something happened s
your ego to m a. Schwartz. who.
. than. the. ‘
HIS advertisement. printed a
few daysago in a. London
newspaper, disclosed 8
story of hardships. of a. desperate
drove an artist of recognized abil- ‘
ity.to do something he would not
have dreamed of doing a few years
ago—ask publicly for a piece of
work at a “small charge."
By coincidence. on the same day
W. Nevinson. one of the best known
Epglish' artists of the modern
school. said he was not ashamed to
admit that he had earned less than
01,600 by his art during the last
four years, an average of lac than
8375 a year. He said that he and
iii-“fife. by denying themselves
been sbioholfvc brat-swing on
retina of norms:- and more
children n
mural ‘decorations for the Detroit
late a paint brush without casualties.
She found employment in a crowded
loft withrtwenty tired eyed girls who
violds .
Zelda Sears, Jill of All Trades, who knew what she wanted and
painted on- celluloid. She painted'eni
ergetically. as she does everything.
and earned twice the cost 'of her
board at the Young Wornenls Chi-Sh
tian Association. *7. ‘
But her eyes saw more and her
ears heard more man the celluloid
boxes. She wrote a tale of her first
ride on a bicycle. It got into the
humor column of a Chicago news
paper. and thereafter that column
was open to her contributions. But
she kept on painting flowers on eel.
iuioid boxes. "Pieces in the paper”
were too uncertain ant-hem
See now her firm footed way. some
five years advanced on the thirty
yearroadtothe thingshewastodo.
j
Ninth street. He. too. was about to
be’ evicted.
Floegel used in paint ceilings in
East Side restaurants to get enough
money to keep alive. It was years
before he could word to buy paint-
mgmteflamsohehndtowork
with watercolors. Schwartz used to
workinmtaurants ssawaiter.and
manyatimehehasbeonsjanitor.
Neither Floegel nor Schwartz- ps-
raded their poverty. and the story of
what they had been through did not
become known - until they were
awarded the prizes. And there are
many artists and art collectors in
'New York who uythat the‘fnost
pathetic stories of eunuch ' do not
become known until the artist him-
selfis'desd.
back from~Romc. what thenf.n.
ankthoraeverwmhavc to;
MasflnthoyMy'm-mu—
taken. no“ are trusts tub!"
tackle-day with
ground and '
WMNhours a day for as
Her father died, leaving to his chil-
dren the inheritance of a small life
insurance and a. fairly large library.
In this library were paper backed
friend's encomiums "the may waln-
an." in another guise. She “put her
mind" starting on the stage. It was
a humble beginning—in the du'ided
chorus. The opera ran for three
weeks, her salary for one. Then she
joined a repertory company. '
"I was the utility woman of the
company, which is dramatic for maid
of all work.". she says.
for thirty years.
plays. The girl devoured them. she
says, "at a gulp." .
Two years as flower painter and
space writer on a. Chicago newspaper
had developed opportunities to see
plays and acquire an unquenchabic
interest in the stage. She wanted to
see Sarah Bernhardt but could not
afford the price of a ticket. She ap
plied for an extra girl's work of m-
canm' filling and witnessed the gran
French tragedienne at close range.
Thenmbornadeslrotobean
actress. She contrived to join a class
in a dramatic school. Hart Conway,
the English actor and teacher. said:
“Zelda Sears can do anything she
puts lie: mind on." Which is her
for 3 Famous
turning. with many regretful looks
backward to cheap commercial work,
and. the sculptors are suflering more
than the painters. because it takes
them longer to do their work and
more money is required for mate-
?“ .
Wherever artists gather and speak
of hrdshipgbeltln New York. Lon-
don. Paris. Florence or Stockholzn.
they do not anhh until they have
spoken the name of David Edith-om.-
the sculptor. Even the most ragged
snd‘bungry of them all will admit
that .Edstrmn luflered most. Ed-
strom hast studio now in the‘Hotel "
de- Artistes. 1 West Sixty1‘oeventh
street. the street. which he calls the
grentestinthoworl’ d..- Hal-recog-
nised. He has money and fame.
But when ‘Edstrom was s. youm
man be wns 0. cheap day laborer in
Im~ Be comets N‘ew York as a
hobo. "Then. as the original hairy
_aps.heworkedhiswsyt08tockholm
unmet. an-Btockh' 7 01:1: hejhared
no“! 1"“ In Olsen Sunder. as
d
pursued her obj act
The season ended. she concluded
that she had outgrown the repertory
company and "moved upon" Sew
York. The heaviest article in the bag
which she gripped tightly when she
stepped off the ferry upon the pos-
sibility charged soil of Manhattan
was a letter of introduction to a New
York theatrical manager.
"Can you dance?” asked the man-
ages.
"I am of Italian descent. Of course
I can dance.” was the‘confident re—
ply.
' "rhea are eight Italian girls in
the electric bullet in ‘Jack and the
Beanstalk' at the Casino." he said.
‘They have to carry incandescent
Artist
had won the fight against the three
greatest devils—sickness, poverty
and loneliness.
"Heaven knows there is plenty of
suffering among artists in Newt».
Yor " said Edstrom. “But the
greatm suiferers. if they no genu-
ine. do not flaunt their troubles. We ,
hear of those who suffermdter
they are dead. and sometimes even
they have their stories 'burled with
them. 1 . .
"n is difficult to get]: to. exact
truth.fortherearefulrérs.:rcmcn~ -
her the student who used to borrow
VBInleceg‘ytz-on motes: He
never field it back; He pointed cop- '
ice and apparently lived on what‘ he
gotfor them andwhat‘we gavchm
Then one day he got, ,, and
built himselfV a finchome.’ “ His show
ot- poverty had been a m .
7"Then there was the other one.
whomwousod tocnn 'Pooeron.’
His povertywu s‘tnditiom: He was
81m nuns-inst n. out-hm
thstiho was truncatinmockhudc:
_fn slat-semantics. Sci-‘0 “1-
.thecemuchm m ‘ M» . "
, u 1244 v 7 «-
MILKMAID TO HIGHEST! PAID "PLAYWRI
Remarkable RiseJt‘o Fame of Zelda Sears, Once a Dairy-
maid on a Michigan Farm; but Who by Dint “of Real
Hard Work Has [Become ‘ aifiMost Brilliant Play Author
' for said otkw '
, _ .__
Vinanyworkyoudoand’“
x
GHf
lights on their backs.
the dress of one of thew“
_ fire and she lest her serve
to in". Are you afraid"
". '0.” The answ A
and firm as that '22:“ “
Standish feared from “the
a woman."
She joined the ball a“!
820 a week. “In thwart-2:1;
toe dancing," she remarks;
art were a. trivial one. u k the
Followed an engagemeno
odrama. in which she ‘
gv'iflalness" and stabbed
. ung her into a has”
flowers. Clyde Fitchhgwmtl:
“That woman who is plavi Db. .
lalnous ought - as the ‘2‘
t to play
he said. “She is a h
The manager presen
wright, who asked he
of the vinegary os."» '
Lane." Critics sail Signing
note in humor. I: was thn u "as
of a series of humorons prime :
that revealed a strong-1:3n
sense. One of the most peefi
crimes called her the “Q; ah!
Farce." She was charar a?” I’
“the greatest of stage 03d 3:525: .
Comedy Characters an. rs: 1‘
were times when even Th e.
Farce" was unemp ‘6
these intervals sh.)
childhood vah‘il‘r-il
shorthand and 0;»:an
office. Once in the :'_ A m“!
for the typewnf r Workm
slow that she luncht-d fnr germ .
on two salted b “.3 and a mom.
milk. and she 5 ad a ”glass d
attack of ind To :11;
unemployed she is":
studied her in. " h‘ M
fourth street ?' .;.';g h‘ona !
the landlady wed a :sa'aaumm
the mountain: ' . h
u- the "ff-Vex-
managed the b1.
looked a. case of d:- '-
its third floor tron; ‘
entitle articles it-r
geon Dr. “‘iii‘
to account the
ceived in his sank.-
story “'hiCh Slit“ N >.
She wrote
“The Name Aim
magazine that
readers hack s:
She wrote
that were qui
“it:
funny to“ _
W m-
th U1.
1' 1° PM»):
.
. {>_\‘r_.d_
and drives swath; :
let."
Lean- times
stage fame grx
Was
she have the
who (3;:
mnsb
growth? No: :
Playwrig .
grams at rel
add to the din
she learned to u'rit- lge speeds:
and build sec-hrs.
"I would '
night. If the
would leave th If the uti-
ence received t.. . stony tiles:
7 I would take them 3:,” she sag-s:
that growing time.
Came 3. "13:11:57 uh) knew he!
1 iiding. and
aptness at dialogue
asked her to imp »
said to her “a I. . 3.
and much that was 11;... 3:1 1 " Fae-
lowed other like s.-p;‘.~"'.‘.;:llles. in
eleven years she read several ha:-
dred plays and 5‘: r: ‘vt-ned ten 5!
them for product J: is an or:
"no of ti"
secret on Broadway 2
most successful musk-.11 t- medium
New York was adspwd ty her though
her name did not rim-n: as its 12-
thor. bliss Sears 3 7 :4
“farming out" pl‘cX‘"-S.‘...’sz‘is of or
thom who had arrived.
l-‘Jr all ‘33
unrecognized work men-t marlin!-
Reading poor plays taught he '5‘?-
should be avoided, Seeing and pk?
ing in good ones taught 22;.- thea-
sentials of the successfz.’ clay.
“I have learned ths‘ am I:
se$en things that make a gnarl phi.
she says. "No play that has slif
them has ever failed. S 7, l hat:-
told any one what they are. T?!
manager for whom i wrote
Billy' asked me. I told him. if u:
taken thirty yeals of experienco'n
life and; the stage to learn :3
I wouldn't tell him. Every
work out his own formula its“
case in his art.
"It has taken thirty years tell”
me 8- Playwright." said man If;
to this writer for New SW ‘
the last twelve I have known on
muld lea‘ve the stage rather ed
and write lays."
'I asked get for her gourd-3'
ecu. “Don't say work," i
"We know that. Work is so ”3"
sary to successes air is is lit-
Jmow you are a. 17de “'3‘
But“ what else)“
"I believe I always knew CI“.
move 9“; I was the first h
when Ijhsd outgrown a joll- “
“I believe. too. thatefoi us
uwelluhocnmeycryfhmu a
to do, that the way will b- In!!! 1
the work that he best can 0!- DC
be too ‘ohoosy’ a can. ear I”-
UOQ all your energy and biz:
mumdbcstwofl-
maswmwintthem‘ w
“memoramrt-v”
museum-5°“ .
wot‘mm“ "
Norwalk Chronicler